Yale University Libary: International Projects and Activities

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATES PROGRAM
Outline and Selection Process

The Yale University Library, as one of the world's leading research libraries, collects, organizes, preserves, and provides access to a rich and unique record of human thought and creativity. It fosters intellectual growth, supports the teaching and research missions of Yale University and scholarly communities worldwide, and promotes cultural and professional leadership at home and abroad.

In accordance with the Library mission, vision, and values, the University Librarian has assigned funds for a pilot project to bring 2-3 visiting information professionals a year from abroad to the Yale Library. This document drafts competitive guidelines to be followed in granting such awards. The selections will be made by a small committee appointed by the Associate University Librarian for Collections and International Programs.

The Library's International Associates Program reflects and supports Yale's transformation into a global intellectual resource. Globalization has been clearly articulated by the University's administration as a University priority. The Program supports the broader interests of Yale University by creating and nurturing ties with research and educational institutions around the globe. The knowledge and understanding all parties will gain through this program should enhance the educational and research activities of our faculty and students.

1. Objectives

The main goal of the program is to nurture professional development and leadership at home and abroad by establishing and developing professional relationships between Yale librarians and archivists and their colleagues in other countries.

In order to be effective and successful, the program should benefit both the Yale Library and the home institutions of visiting associates. Consequently, applicants should take into proper account:

The specific needs of individual departments or units within the Yale Library;

The specific needs of libraries and archives outside of the United States who are interested in sending their staff to Yale;

The best way these two sets of needs can be fulfilled by inviting an international associate to Yale.

In the future, as the program develops and grows, it may also be possible to send a Yale librarian or archivist to a non-US library, as part of a Library “research leave.”

The presence of international associates should benefit both the hosting department within the Library and the Library as a whole. Consequently, while working within a specific department, associates should have the opportunity to acquaint themselves with other key areas in the Library (i.e., units, departments, and collections), which in turn would benefit from contact and interaction with them.

International associates are potentially beneficial for various reasons, in particular:

At the individual level, as skilled professionals possessing subject or language expertise which the Library may need.

At the institutional level, as representatives of their home libraries.

At the cultural level, as individuals born and raised in a different country. Their presence and interaction with Library staff will broaden the latter’s understanding and appreciation of cultural differences in an increasingly multicultural work environment.

Benefits to the Yale Library may be immediate and direct (i.e., through their work within a specific unit or department), or they may be projected in the future. In the latter case, an international associate could be the first step towards a relationship with a strategically targeted library or archives outside the United States. If properly and effectively pursued, such a relationship could lead to valuable collaborations and exchanges of materials, expertise, and visits.

As part of the program, the Yale Library could host Fulbright Senior Specialists, which include librarians and archivists among its professional categories.

2. Funding

To ensure the future of the program beyond the pilot phase, as well as to increase the number of visitors and / or their length of stay during the first three years, departments are encouraged to identify additional and future sources of funding, whether through matches or donations / gifts.

3. Program Structure

Length of visits
The visits may be between one and six months long, with three or four months as the preferred term. The Library could offer different lengths of visit, with the possibility of two or even three associates overlapping for part of their visits. This would increase and diversify the levels of interaction between host and guest librarians. However, overlaps will be granted only when support capacity makes this possible.

Visits may occur at any time of the year, although during the summer months (May to September) housing and weather are less problematic, while from September to May associates have the opportunity to experience the University when in session.

Orientation
Associates will be offered a general orientation tour of the Library, to be followed by visits to individual departments and collections.

4. Selection Process

The selection process will comprise three steps and take into consideration:

The general objectives of the program.

The strengths and the needs of the Yale Library, and how a visiting international associate could take advantage of the former while fulfilling the latter.

The strengths and the needs of the candidates' home libraries, and how the visit of an international associate would allow the Yale Library to take advantage of the former while fulfilling the latter.

The process begins within individual Library departments. Twice a year (typically mid-March and mid-August), a small Working Group appointed by the Associate University Librarian for Collections and International Programs issues a Library-wide call, inviting departments and units to submit proposals. Successful proposals shall include:

A brief description (1-3 pages) of the project or activity for which the department is seeking an international associate, noting how the particular combination of professional skills and cultural-linguistic background represented by an associate would contribute to the project, the sponsoring department, and the Library as a whole. The description should include:
Clearly defined objectives and a timeframe for achieving them;
An indication of the length of the associate’s visit;
An indication of the working space and tools with which the department would provide the associate during his or her stay at Yale;
An indication of the availability of additional or matching funds (if any) which the department may be able to use for this purpose.
If available, a list of potential candidates (1-5), including their institutional affiliations and professional qualifications. (Resumes can be
added as well.)

Departments are responsible for identifying and contacting the institutions they see as potential sources of suitable candidates.

Proposals jointly submitted by two or more departments are welcome.

All the proposals received will be reviewed by the Working Group, who will discuss any necessary changes with the interested parties, and make initial decisions.

After this initial selection, the Working Group will:

Notify all departments who have submitted proposals of the selection results;

Invite departments whose proposals have been approved to submit formal candidate applications.

The Working Group will review the candidate applications and, in consultation with the sponsoring departments, select the best candidates.

Alternatively, proposals can be submitted to bring a specific librarian or archivist to Yale, if this is the department’s original motivation for participating in the program. In this case, the proposal should focus on the (unique) candidate’s skills and how they would benefit the sponsoring department and the Library as a whole, and a joint submission with other departments or units would be strongly recommended.

5. Submission Dates / Deadlines

See 2008-09 Schedule.

6. Selection Criteria

Candidates must satisfy the following criteria:

Full-time employment in a library or archives outside of the United States.

Possession of the knowledge and the skills required to meet the specific needs of the sponsoring department within the Yale Library, as well as the general needs of the Library as a whole.

Good communication and interpersonal skills.
Willingness and capability to act as ambassadors of their own institution, and to further its relationship with the Yale Library.

Willingness and capability to share the fruits of the experience matured at Yale with colleagues at home.

Excellent listening, speaking, and reading skills in English.

Any additional requirements indicated in the call for applicants.

Application materials required are:

Cover letter in which the applicant states his or her reasons for applying.
Curriculum vitae.
Cover letter of support from the applicant’s supervisor (or head of the department in which the applicant works), describing the benefits that the visit would have for the applicant’s department or library.
Supporting letter from the head of the Yale Library department or unit hosting the prospective visitor.

7. Role and membership of the Working Group

The Working Group is small (about 5-7 members) and staffed by the International Program Support Librarian, who is also responsible for the promotion of the program and the administrative work required to bring the associates to the Library. To offer all Library staff the opportunity to contribute to the selection process, the Working Group membership will be rotating, with each member serving for no more than two (consecutive) selection periods.

Besides the selection process, the main responsibilities of the Working Group are to establish and periodically review the program guidelines, to communicate regularly with the various departments on issues related to the program, to provide advise and feedback, and to ensure the overall success of the initiative by overseeing all its aspects and stages.

8. Membership of the Working Group

Graziano Krätli, International Program Support Librarian (Convener)
Paul Stuehrenberg, Divinity Librarian
Mark Gentry, Medical Library
Daniel Lovins, Catalog Department
Ann Okerson, Associate University Librarian for Collection and International Programs (Sponsor)

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Revised: January 2007

Send comments to graziano.kratli@yale.edu